John Young Nelson and his family, 1887
by Elliott and Fry of London

A cabinet card portrait of the frontiersman, scout, interpreter and guide John Nelson, photographed with his Native American family in London in 1887-1888, while they were appearing with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. 

Born in Virginia in 1826, Nelson ran away from home to escape his domineering father and to seek adventure in the West. Along the way he took odd jobs on farms; he also worked as a cabin boy on a Mississippi steamboat and as an apprentice to a group of traders. After meeting a band of Sioux he decided that a nomadic life would suit him better and he got himself adopted into the tribe. As a young Sioux brave he learnt to live off the land and fight like a Sioux warrior, participating in raids and skirmishes. His adopted father was Chief Spotted Tail. 

He was married four times in his life, always to Native America women. The woman he is seen with here is his fourth wife, Jenny Nelson (Yellow Oak Woman) with whom he had five children. His first three wives had resented being forced to marry a white man and the marriages had not lasted. 

Later Nelson guided Brigham Young and the first group of Mormon pioneers into Salt Lake Valley, he worked as a military scout, he fought in the Indian Wars and he served as a lawman in North Dakota. He also toured with William F. Cody’s ‘Wild West’ show for several years. He died in 1903 and was buried somewhere along his beloved Medicine Creek in southern Nebraska. 

Photographed by Elliott and Fry of Baker Street, London. If the mount weren’t trimmed, the studio’s name would appear in the lower margin and below this there would be mention of ‘Buffalo Bill’s Wild West.’ Although the caption claims copyright, I can find no record that the image was ever registered. 

Condition: the print, which is a Woodburytype, is in excellent condition, with rich tonal range. The mount is firm and solid, with crisp edges and sharp corners, but it presents some foxing recto in its margins (there’s only a small amount of faint foxing verso) and its upper and lower edges have been trimmed slightly.

Dimensions: the whole card measures 6.1” by 4.2” (15.5 cm by 10.6 cm).